Jeffrey A. Bolton, co-founder of the Daszkal Bolton accounting firm, died Friday in a swimming mishap in the Bahamas, the firm announced. He was 47.

“He was vacationing and went swimming with a group in what seemed to be a very safe area. Some serious rip currents came along. Unfortunately, Jeff was not a good swimmer. There was nothing that his friends could do,” Susan Kaplan, director of marketing for the firm, said in a brief interview Monday.

Bolton and Michael Daszkal co-founded the firm in 1992. Bolton was known for focusing on entrepreneurs and family-owned businesses.

Daszkal was planning to address the entire firm via video conference on Monday morning. He said Bolton’s death was a tremendous loss for his family and the community.

“We worked all weekend to mobilize the 12 partners, to help his family and to reach out to clients,” Daszkal said. “The mood in the office is somber, but we have an account manager that is handling all of his clients.”

The firm, headquartered in Boca Raton, also has offices in Fort Lauderdale and Jupiter. Bolton launched and grew the Jupiter office in particular.

Bolton earned national recognition as a “Pathfinder” by the American Institute of CPAs and as a Small Business Leader of the Year by the Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce.

Bolton’s son Jason had survived a battle with leukemia, which prompted his father to get involved in related charities. Jeff Bolton served on the board of directors for the Bone Marrow Foundation and was chairman of the foundation’s annual “Sports Legends” event. He was also corporate chairman of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s “Light the Night Walk” for years.

Bolton is survived by his wife Mirka; his two children, Jason and Lexi; his brother Brian Bolton and his parents Joel and Barbara Bolton.

The family asked that donations be made in lieu of flowers to the Jeffrey A. Bolton Children’s Education Fund at 2401 N.W. Boca Raton Blvd., Boca Raton, FL 33431.